CTA Union President Considers Work Slowdown
By Anthonia Akitunde in News on Feb 14, 2010 7:00PM
Your CTA Bus Tracker may estimate an even longer wait time, and this time service cuts wouldn't be the only reason. CTA's union president is threatening a work slowdown by having drivers follow CTA rules "to the letter" in protest of the service cuts put into effect on February 7, Chicago Breaking News reports.
Union president Darrell Jefferson broke the news on Saturday, saying if service cuts were not removed, he would tell his members to follow CTA rules that makes the process of transporting people around the city slower. Some of these rules include waiting for all passengers to be seated or "standing securely" before leaving a stop and "sitting at intersections with stale green lights rather than driving through," Jefferson said in the report.
At the press conference held at Operation PUSH headquarters with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jefferson expressed frustration with the current state of the CTA. Many drivers work 12 to 14 hour days and driving unfamiliar routes to make up for the loss of 900 drivers, the report said. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 officials hope to meet CTA officials on Wednesday to discuss these issues. If an agreement isn't met, a work slowdown may be the next step.